174 flood insurance claims·$3.1M paid·5 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Jackson County, Arkansas. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Jackson County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by flash floods and river flooding, driven by over four dozen flash flood events and 43 general flood events recorded over the last 30 years, alongside impacts from tropical systems. Recent activity includes a significant flash flood event in January 2025 caused by a slowly lifting warm front, and extensive multiday river flooding in April 2025 that kept points along the White, Black, Cache, and Ouachita Rivers in flood status through the end of the month.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property damage is heavily concentrated in high-risk areas. Properties located in Zone A account for the vast majority of claims with 131 filings, resulting in an average payout of $20,165 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Additional claims outside of standard high-risk zones include 16 claims in unshaded Zone X with an average payout of $19,205 and an average water depth of 6 inches, 16 claims in Zone UNKNOWN averaging $9,570 with an average water depth of 11 inches, and 11 claims in Zone X averaging $31,026 with an average water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within Zone A due to the high volume of historical claims, while remaining aware that properties in shaded and unshaded Zone X areas are also susceptible to flood damages and insurance claims.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11% of Jackson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
147 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 7 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 1982, with 30 claims and $401,638 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
46 NOAA storm reports from Jackson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
35 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Mar 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Dec 10, 2021 |
| Hurricane Laura | Aug 26, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 26, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Dec 26, 2015 |
| Severe Storms,tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 27, 2014 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
96 since 1996: 48 flash floods and 43 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jan 30, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 6, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Mar 25, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Feb 10, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Feb 8, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 21, 2022 | — |
| Flood | May 7, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jan 30, 2025. A slowly lifting warm front across Arkansas led to a significant rain event across central and northern Arkansas during a period of several days. Rainfall totals mounted across the northern half of the state and by January 30th locations across central and northern Arkansas experienced Flash Flooding after receiving additional rainfall.
Flood · Apr 6, 2025. Heavy rainfall over a multiday period brought flooding to many rivers across Arkansas. Points along the White, Black, Cache, and Ouachita Rivers remained in flood through the remainder of the month.
Flood · Mar 25, 2023. Heavy rain brought flooding to parts of Arkansas in late March 2023.
Flood · Feb 10, 2023. Temperatures quickly rebounded by February 7-8 as a strong storm system approached the area. Highs across southern and central Arkansas climbed into the 70s to lower 80s, breaking a few records. There wasn't much severe weather across the state, but a flash flooding event unfolded across roughly the northwest half of the state. Rainfall amounts exceeded 4-6 inches in some locations leading to rapid rises on area r…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Jackson County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.